Days 173-180 – 08/02/2016-15/02/2016 – Kolkata-Varanasi

After spending a few nights in Kolkata and everyone catching up (besides Phil still in Switzerland getting new passport) we made a plan to head for Varanasi with Rupert spending an extra day in Kolkata we decided on stopping on Bodhgaya as a mid point and to wait for Rupert.

Not knowing anything about this place it was very surprising to see the temples and everything around them. We later found out it was where Buddha was enlightened and a very special place. The next morning the decision was to go have a look and some sightseeing before riding to Varanasi. What an interesting and amazing place so many different religions all in the same place, some chanting some read scriptures and others just sliding up and down a board with counters on. The lady we met at the guesthouse was setting up 2500 flowers and water each day.

After a couple of hours it was time to head to Varanasi. On arriving following Rupert his Sat Nav got a little confused and we ended up in the middle of the city and pulled over to reset and find the accommodation we had booked the day before. This, as per usual, caused a major traffic jam and blocked all the roads. The Police came along again and asked us to move so as to free the traffic up (this is a common occurrence for us). After a bit of driving around we found the homestay and settled in for the night and next few days.

Varanasi is a very special and somber place, after a couple of days rest and Marcus turning up the following day, we were up early for a boat ride along the Ganges. Not something that I would be doing everyday but was lucky as no bodies were burning or being prepared (it was something I didn’t really want to see).

We caught up with Jakob (AUS) and Gemma (UK) who Marcus and I had met in Hampi. They are backpacking their way through India and on the way to Nepal then the Stans. We had a meal and chat then headed back to homestay for an earlish night to be on the road and headed north east in the morning.